Written by

Process to validate the signatures • Individual signatures are reviewed to ensure name is signed and printed, residence address is complete, date of signature (cannot be dated after the circulator’s signature and verification), and county of voter registration. • A spreadsheet from the secretary of state has been created to conduct random sampling. Each petition number will be listed and the number of eligible signature lines on each petition entered on the spreadsheet. The random sampling function in the spreadsheet will identify 5 percent of the eligible signature lines in a petition. Those signatures selected at random will be verified as a registered voter through the secretary of state’s office. Information from the Sioux Falls city clerk’s office

More

ADVERTISEMENT

In 14 days, petitioners who oppose an ordinance updating the city’s zoning laws collected more than 6,500 signatures, in hopes of having enough signatures to put the issue to a public vote.

“Save Our Neighborhood” petitioners turned the signatures into the city clerk’s office Friday, which was the deadline.

Now the signatures go through a validation process, which includes ensuring signers are registered voters and live within city limits.

The number of valid signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot is 5,120, which represents 5 percent of the total number of registered voters in Sioux Falls city limits in Lincoln and Minnehaha counties.

“It’s an issue that affects all development and single-family residences in Sioux Falls,” said Bonita Schwan, a Sioux Falls city resident who helped collect signatures.

More than 150 petitioners gathered signatures in a course of 14 days. Those gathering signatures were hampered by bouts of icy, snowy weather which also prompted closures at the Minnehaha County Administration Building. It’s a popular site for collecting signatures.

Those who oppose the new zoning laws, called Shape Places, take issue with the easing of requirements for developers. The city would require fewer conditional-use permits.

Organizers of “Save Our Neighborhood,” said the group’s primary concern is a proposal to put a Walmart Supercenter at 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue, where a number of the petitioners live. Fewer requirements for conditional-use permits means the public has less say in what can be built, critics argue.

“The ordinance just needs a further look,” said Stacy Haber, a resident who lives in southern Sioux Falls. “There needs to be a system of checks and balances there.”

Schwan said the gathering of so many signatures in so few days is proof that Sioux Falls residents want to vote on the issue.

Conditional-use permits now are required with more than 80 land uses. That will drop to only a handful of land uses under the new ordinance, with most of the stipulations handled through the rezoning process.

(Page 2 of 2)

Shape Places marks the biggest overhaul of city zoning laws since 1983. It attempts to streamline the development process and provide more options, including designations for projects that include a mix of residential and nonresidential uses.

The updated zoning plan began in 2008 with input from the development community and the public. It has worked its way through various committees, was approved in February by the City Planning Commission and passed last month by the City Council.

Rezoning still would need approval from both the City Planning Commission and City Council.

While petition signatures are being validated and counted, Shape Places, which was to become official Friday, will not go into effect.

If enough signatures are deemed valid on a petition, the City Council would schedule an election, City Clerk Lorie Hogstad said.

By state statute, petitioners have 20 days to collect the valid signatures of at least 5 percent of registered voters within Lincoln and Minnehaha counties to refer an issue to a vote.

A referendum applies to issues or ordinances that already have been passed by a governing body, in this case being the Sioux Falls City Council.

The land in question has not been officially rezoned as commercial by the City Council. Action is expected next month. The council did annex the land into city limits, which will become official later this month.

Jeff Schmitt, chief planning and zoning official, said if the land is rezoned commercially and Shape Places is placed on the ballot and put on hold until an election, Walmart would be required to obtain a conditional-use permit to build a store larger than 15,000 square feet at 85th and Minnesota. The retailer’s plan is for an 185,000-square-foot store.

If Shape Places goes to a vote it will join two other issues that will go before voters, including the use of snowgates citywide, and a new outdoor pool at Spellerberg Park.

Hogstad said it takes a minimum of two weeks to validate the signatures. The total number of valid signatures will be announced to the City Council at a future meeting.